{"id":27742,"date":"2023-12-25T22:56:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T06:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27742"},"modified":"2023-12-25T22:56:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T06:56:50","slug":"blu-ray-dvd-roundup-for-december-26th-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27742","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray\/DVD Roundup for December 26th, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra\nHD, Blu-ray and DVD. Last week was busy and as a result it\u2019s going to be very,\nvery quiet for the next couple of weeks. Still, here\u2019s what is coming your way\nif you\u2019re looking for something new to watch over the holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIG NEW RELEASES!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BUTCHER\u2019S CROSSING \u2013 This period effort is based on a novel\nby John Edward Williams. The plot revolves around a Harvard grad who leaves\nMassachusetts looking for adventure. He arrives in the Old West and teams up\nwith a frontiersman hunting buffalo pelts in a secluded valley. The lead, his\nnew boss and their crew must survive an arduous winter journey in order to\ncomplete their task. As the elements worsen, the sanity of everyone involved is\nput to the test. Critical response was decent towards this effort. About one\nquarter of reviewers had trouble discerning the meaning of the picture and\nthought it was a confused and ineffective survivalist tale.However, the rest\ndid find a point to the story, commenting that it featured great characters and\neffectively borrowed from movies like Treasure of the Sierra Madre<\/em> to\nrelay a tale of greedy men trying to steal from each other. It stars Nicolas\nCage, Fred Hechinger, Rachel Keller, Paul Raci and Xander Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SCOOBY-DOO! AND KRYPTO, TOO! \u2013 This animated family feature\ninvolving Scooby-Doo! is a direct-to-disc effort. It actually combines the\nmystery-solving pooch with DC superheroes. When the Justice League disappears,\nScooby and his pals decide to team up with Superman\u2019s Dog to find out what\nhappened. When they learn the truth, they must help stop sinister forces,\nincluding some familiar comic book foes. There haven\u2019t been many reviews yet\nfor this effort, but the ones that have appeared online have been upbeat. Most\nhave complimented the film for being fast-paced and combining elements from\nboth franchises in a new and interesting way. They all appear to think that\nkids will get a kick out of it. For the time being, this is a DVD-only release.\nThe voice cast includes Frank Welker, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, Kate\nMicucci, P.j. Byrne and Victoria Grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As far as older titles go, 88 Films is releasing a Blu-ray\nof The Blue Jean Monster<\/em> (1991). This is a Hong Kong effort about a cop\nwho is gunned down and electrocuted by a Triad gang. He returns as a monster\nand uses his newfound electrical powers to shock his way to revenge on the\nkillers. The movie has been given a 2K remaster from the original camera\nnegative. It also comes with an interview with the assistant director and the\nHong Kong trailer for the feature. The disc comes in a slipcase featuring new\nart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pictured above and to the left, The Inspector Wears Skirts<\/em> (1988) is a Hong Kong martial arts feature about a team of female super-cops who are tasked with stopping a group of terrorists and some jewel thieves. Of course, they must also contend with sexist cops in their own precinct. Jackie Chan\u2019s stunt team helped with the action scenes and the cast includes Cynthia Rothrock and Wai Yin-hung. This Blu-ray also contains a 2K remaster of the movie from the camera negative, as well as a movie historian commentary, an interview with the director and the co-star Rothrock. Additionally, it comes with English opening and closing titles, a ton of publicity materials and a slipcase with new artwork for the flick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AGFA is putting out Take It Out in Trade<\/em> (1970) on\nBlu-ray. This is a soft-core film starring Ed Wood that features the\nwriter\/director\/actor at one of the lowest points in his career. From those\nbrave enough, the disc includes a 2K restoration of the movie, an audio\ncommentary from Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Brain Damage<\/em>) 70 minutes\nof outtakes and a bonus movie called The Love Feast<\/em> (1969) which also\nstars Wood. The release includes liner notes and reversible art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shout Factory is releasing a couple of notable efforts. The\nunderrated period action film Last Man Standing<\/em> (1996) is a \u201cshoot \u2018em\nup\u201d set during prohibition about a gunslinger who wanders into a desert town\nand gets in the middle of a gang war. It was directed by Walter Hill (The\nWarriors, 48 Hrs., Streets of Fire<\/em>) and is actually a loose remake of Akira\nKurosawa\u2019s Yojimbo<\/em> that features a great cast and plenty of stylish,\nover-the-top action sequences. Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern,\nDavid Patrick Kelly, William Sanderson and Leslie Mann headline the picture.\nFor this Blu-ray, the movie has been given a new 2K scan and comes with a\ntheatrical trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its 25th<\/sup> anniversary, The Man in the Iron\nMask<\/em> (1998) is getting a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray upgrade. Based on the\nnovel by Alexandre Dumas, this adaptation is a Musketeers fable. The aging\nfoursome come together once again to help free a mysterious prisoner who is\nbeing kept in an iron mask. The cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons,\nJohn Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne and Hugh Laurie. Besides a\nsharper, cleaner picture, the set includes an archived director commentary,\ninterviews with the producer and the production designer, as well as a\nmaking-of featurettes and a trailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Vinegar Syndrome is putting up some exclusives that will\nonly be available on their website until the end of January (when they will\nappear at most retailers). The Blu-ray titles include The Mysterious Castle\nin the Carpathians<\/em> (1981) with co-distributor Deaf Crocodile and Skateboard<\/em>\n(1978) alongside Factory 25. You can go to the site to read about all of the\nextras on each release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listed below is the lone entry for kids in this edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! <\/em>(Warner Bros.) DVD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE TUBE!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looks like there\u2019s nothing on the tube this week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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